Grain-separator



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No. 368,939. Patented Aug. 30, 1887.

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GRAIN SEPARATOR.

No. 368,939. Patented Aug. 30, 1887..

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GRAIN SEPARATOR.

No. 368,939. Patented Aug. so, 1887 if HU Zlfz'bzesses; Q Im/nfor; 40; 51. 0%, ,2 1

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v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES M. GILBERT, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

GRAIN-SEPARATOR.

Q SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 368,939, dated August 30, 1887.

Application filed December 9, 1886. Serial No. 221,081. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES M. GILBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Separators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for cleaning grain by means of shaking-sieves.

My improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same, showing the upper half and wind-trunks in vertical section. Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section of the upper portion of the.

machine. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, enlarged, of the lower half of the machine, with the driving-pulley removed and a portion of the case broken away, showing the interior. Figs. 5 and 6 are detached views of parts of the feed devices. Fig. 7 is a transverse section, enlarged of the sieves and parts immediately connected with them. Fig. 8 is a detail of one of the plates for strengthening the casing of the machine. Fig-9 is a section of the same on the line .19 a: of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a detached view showing the back of one of the frames for connecting the screens. Fig. 11 is an end view of the same; and Fig. 12 is a central section of the hollow pulley shown in Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference designate like parts in the several views.

A representsthe frame of the machine.

13 is a fan-case at the top of the frame, and

,b is the fan.

a a, &c., are wind-trunks leading to the eye of the fan-case.

, o is the feed-box throhgh which grain is admitted to the machine.

0 is a spreading-board in the box 0, hinged to the inner wall of the box and inclined downward toward the front of the box.

0 is a cam for supporting the board 0 and raising and lowering it to diminish or increase the space between the board and the box to regulate the feed. The cam c is on a shaft operated by the lever c at the end of the feedbox, and the lever is held in adjustment by a thumb-screw, a engaging a segmental guide, The board 0 spreads the grain in a thin stream in feeding it, and the feed-box being kept full or nearly full of grain, air is prevented from being admitted through the grain to the machine.

D is a rock-shaft provided with suitable projections or pins, d, which project toward the spreading-board c, and is given an oscillatory movement by the vibrating-arm d, and serves, by means of the projections, to work through the feed-opening any straws, strings, &c., that may be in the grain. The vibrating arm d is pivotally connected to a rod, d, attached to and reciprocated by the upper shoe, and the upper end of the arm d is attached to the rock-shaft D and gives it its rocking motion.- 0 is a feed-board at the bottom of the feed box 0, and receives thegrain as it falls from the spreading-board c. The board 0 is given a shaking movement by being connected to the vibrating arm (1, and shakes the grain into the first wind-trunk a, which has a windcurrent sufficient to carry off dust, chaff, and light screenings. The dust and chaff are carried up and into the fan and blown out, while the screenings are deposited in the first screenings-chamber a Upon falling from the windtrunk a the grain is deposited on the coarse upper sieve, e, which is designed to remove 'sticks, straws, strings, and other coarse substances, and carry them to the end of the sieve, whence they fall into the inclined pan or trough e, by which they are conducted out of the machine.

e is the seed-sieve, of finer mesh, beneath the sieve e, from which it receives the grain and screens out small seeds, sand, and other small particles,which are deposited on theimperforate bottom of the shoe and descend into 0 F is a distributing-box having its ends secured to the sides of the machine and extending across centrally in the machine beneath the discharging end of the shoe, for receiving the grain from the sieve e and delivering it to the lower sieves. The grain is distributed equally to both sets of the lower sieves by the inverted-V-shaped bottom f, situated within the box.F. The inclined bottom f has its ends secured to the sides of the machine, with its ridge central to the box F and its sides extending beyond the sides of the box, but free from contact with them, so as to leave a sufficient passage-way for the descending grain.

The grain descending from the box F is subjected to the action of the shaking-sieves k if, of which there is a set at either side of the center of the machine, and which are designed to remove small substances-such as small sticks, oats, &c.-that may yet be with the grain. From these sieves the grain falls upon the cant-boards g, which direct it toward the center to the air-trunk a, where it encounters a strong current of air, which removes shrunken berries and other matter lighter than sound grain. Thence the grain is spouted from the machine. The fan-shaft s carries the drivingpulley p, and a pulley, p, on that shaft is belted to a pulley, 1) on a shaft, 3, which extends through the middle of the machine below the distributing-box. The pulley p is shown to be hollow, and may be loaded to counterbalance the weight of the sieves. The sides of the machine below the box F are inclosed by a board or sheet-metal casing, A. On the shaft 8', outside of the casing A of the machine, are eccentrics h, to which are connected the rods i and j for operating the sieves. The connecting-rods j, which are in line with one pair of the rods i, reciprocate the sieves e e by means of the bars j, secured to the sieveframe, and to which the rods j are connected, and the reciprocation of these sieves in turn operates the vibrating arm d by means of a connecting-rod, d", pivoted to the vibrating arm and to the sieve-frame. The rods i are secured to the frames m, which carry the sieves k k is, and the frames at are sustained by supports m, or hangers, which permit longitudinal reciprocation of the frames. At the under side of the frames are flanges m, in pairs, extending the length of the frame and forming grooves m for receiving the webs of the T-irons t, which are bolted by bolts t to the flanges m. The T-iron flanges are fastened by screws or bolts to the frames k of the sieves 76 k k.

Slots A are provided in the casing A to receive the webs of the T-irons, and these slots extend from the inner ends of the screens to the outer edge of the casing.

The case, which would be weakened by the slots A is stiffened by means of plates at at the middle and plates a at the edges. These latter plates have hollow ridges a, forming grooves a in line with the slots A of the case.

To withdraw a sieve it is only necessary to remove the bolts t, when the sieve may be drawn out endwise, the webs of the T-irons passing through the slots A and grooves n Beneath the upper and middle sieves are the back-carriers 0, formed of plates inclined at suitable angles forward and rearward, the forwardly-inclined plates being the shorter and overhanging the longer rearwardly-inclined plates. The purpose subserved by these back carriers is to retard the onward flow of the grain and deliver it evenly to the next lower sieve back of the points whence it descended, thus increasing the screen-surface over which the grain is made to travel.

The frames 0' supporting these plates are made fast to the sides of the case A, and beneath these frames are the beveled strips q, also secured to the case A, for deflecting the grain inwardly and preventing it from falling over the sides of the screens. The inner sides of the screenframes k are similarly beveled, as shown at k, for a like purpose.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description and the drawings that one of the leading objects of the invention is the shaking of the sieves independently of the box containing them and of the devices for back-carrying or deflecting the grain.

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a grain-separator, in combination with a feed-hopper, a hinged spreading-board and adjusting-lever therefor, a rock-shaft having projections for agitating the grain on said board, a feed-board, a reciprocating riddleshoe, and an arm connected thereto and to said feed-board and rock-shaft, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a grain-separator, in combination, a series of sieves, a casing having slots extending from its outer ends to the inner ends of the sieves, reciprocating frames exterior to the casing, and rigid connections between said sieves and frames through said slots, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination, in a grain-separator, a casing having slots extending from near the middle to the ends, exterior reciprocating frames, interior sieves, angle-irons attached thereto and extending through the casing-slots for connecting said frames and sieves, and stiffening-plates for the casing having raised portions with interior grooves coincident with the slots of the casing, substantially as set forth.

4. In a separator, the combination, with a slotted sieve-case, of a series of sieves therein, angle-irons attached to the sieves and extending through the slots of the case, and frames suspended at the outside of the case having grooves extending parallel with the slots of the case, whereby the sieves, with their angle-irons, can be inserted into the case or withdrawn without removal of the frames, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the sieve-frames and angle-irons, of the frames m, having longitudinal flanges m, forming the grooves m, for the purpose described.

6. The combination, with a sieve'case having the slots A, of a series of sieves, the frames m, having the flanges and grooves m m, and the T-irons t, fast to the sieve-frames and detachably secured in said frame-grooves, for the purpose set forth.

CHARLES M. GILBERT.

Witnesses:

W. G. HOIT, P. H. GUNCKEL.

IIO 

